freelancing

Freelancing. It’s such a strange word. It sounds like we lance things for free. The truth is, I’ve never lanced a thing, and I don’t work for free. Nevertheless, “freelancing” is what I do. What that means is anybody’s guess, because the word doesn’t describe the work. I could be building websites for people using some content management system like WordPress. I could be recording music in a church. I could be writing articles for a fancy-pants magazine.

These are all things I’ve done, but I guess most freelancers focus on one type of task. Doing the same thing every day has rarely worked for me, though. I like to use all my talents. I love to learn (which is why I hated high school), I love to grow, and I love my freedom. I love being able to spend two weeks going to my office from 9 to 5 like a normal person, and I love being able to suddenly change it up and do my work from a coffee shop where I can watch people do whatever they do on their various laptops. Perhaps they’re “freelancing” too. I suppose I love the “free” in freelancing most of all.

There are drawbacks. Sometimes I don’t have enough to do to pay the bills. Sometimes I wonder what “stability” might look like. Sometimes I miss my friends in the daytime, who mostly go to offices working for the government or a big company. But in the end, a person needs to be who they are. I am a traveler, a roamer and a dreamer. I write because I have things to say. I sing because some things can’t be said. I create because I must, and that means I have no time for a board room or a water cooler conversation. I discuss my binge watching on my own time, in my own way, and not when there are better, more powerful things to do.

I hope this little note finds you well, dear reader, and I hope you’re being you to the best of your ability. If you want to freelance too, I encourage you! It’ll take some courage, some ingenuity, and a sense of discipline that most people don’t have, but it could be worth it! You could actually get free!